1978 Boney M: Rivers Of Babylon

Ubiquitous in the late seventies UK charts, Boney M were a manufactured band cooked up by German record producer Frank Farian. That sentence alone is enough to get many music fans reaching for a revolver, but one thing Farian was stupendously good at was taking some unlikely source material and turning it into palatable juggernaughts of songs that negated any hint of possible danger or bad taste through an overwhelming arms linked, knees up party vibe. Russian mystics ('Rasputin'),1930's American gangsters ('Ma Baker'), home-grown religious conflict ('Belfast') - Boney M were fearless in what they sang about, and even their cover versions like The Creation's 'Painter Man' and Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' were highly unpredictable on paper but were nevertheless given a Hi-NRG, Eurodance makeover that made them sound like they were always meant to be played that way.

'Rivers Of Babylon' is a cover version too, and an unlikely a one as any. Originally recorded by The Melodians, 'Rivers Of Babylon' takes the bulk of it's lyrics from Psalm 137, detailing the suffering of the exiled Jews after Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians. When placed in this reggae setting, the 'Babylon' and 'Zion' references take on a more charged and respectful meaning as the ying and yang of good and evil, but as far as Boney M are concerned it's all just a good tune. In fact, with their campy image and bacofoil outfits, Farian's band would be the essence of Babylon to any Rastafari though I doubt he'd have seen the irony (or even cared if he did).

For me, 'Rivers Of Babylon' is one of the least interesting of all Boney M's singles. The tune is a strong one, but its sheer in your faceness is wearing, particularly as there's little heart or depth enough to warrant anything other than a cursory surface listen. What is (after all) serious religion is reduced to the lowest 4/4 denominator until all meaning is diluted in the Eurobeat the way English rugby fan's singing of 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' exorcises all trace of the song's roots in slavery. There's a time and a place for both, but we perhaps shouldn't be surprised when people get pissed off with the lack of reverence being shown.

And as if to neatly illustrate what I mean, flip the disc over for the just as famous B side 'Brown Girl In The Ring' and you get another simple clapalong, only it's by far the more interesting proposition of the two simply because, being based on a Caribbean nursery rhyme, it's not meant to have any depth and Boney M can go to town on it safe in the knowledge they are not trivialising something that anyone can take offence at. And it takes a particularly humourless kind of music snobbery for it not to put a smile on your face.